Just when you thought you had battened down the hatches and were settling in for a long winters nap, I am here to tell you that there some legitimate excuses for outdoor activity in the garden.  I call it 'winterizing' and your investment in garden plant will be protected if you follow my advice.

1.  Uprighting evergreens like cedars and junipers should be wrapped with two layers of burlap. It does two things - one it prevents wind damage and second it prevents sun damage.  Evergreens that are open to the north / west prevailing winds are particularly susceptible.

2.  Hill up your roses with triple mix or clean, weed free top soil.  The idea is not so much to prevent freezing as ground frost will occur in most parts of Canada without the hilling: rather, you are preventing damage to tender rose bushes from the freeze/thaw cycles that occur in most of the country.

3.  Apply liquid Wiltpruf on all of your broad-leafed evergreens.  Taxus (yews), boxwood, euonymus and of course rhododendrons all benefit from the insulating value of this effective anti-desiccant.  It is the drying effects of our winter that wreaks havoc here.  

As for indoor plants -there is work to done there too.  More on that later.

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